Harvest strategies

Harvest strategies help ensure fisheries are managed sustainably by:

  • setting out what action should be taken, depending on how the stock is tracking against benchmarks
  • defining how these fishing controls may change in response to the performance of the fish stock.

Crab fisheries

Harvest fisheries

East coast inshore fishery

Net fisheries

Line fisheries

Trawl fisheries

Development

The harvest strategy policy (PDF, 1.4MB) guides development and implementation of the harvest strategies.

Fisheries Queensland works with stakeholders to identify objectives, timeframes, indicators and reference points.

These include:

How they work

Harvest strategies specify the pre-determined management actions necessary to achieve ecological, economic and social objectives of a fishery.

All harvest strategies include the same basic elements:

  • overall fishery objectives
  • key indicators used to assess the fishery's health specific benchmarks
  • reference points that outline where we want the fishery to be and where we don't want it to be
  • decision rules that trigger pre-agreed management actions.

Overall fishery objectives

Fishery objectives outline:

  • where we want the fishery to be from an ecological, economic and social (triple bottom line) perspective
  • the timeframe to achieve those objectives.

These objectives inform the reference points for a fishery.

Performance indicators

Harvest strategies use data and information to track the performance of the fishery over time. These indicators include:

  • biomass
  • protected species interactions
  • commercial catch rates
  • recreational catch information
  • environmental influences like water temperature
  • other social or economic indicators.

Reference points

Reference points describe desirable and undesirable levels of performance in the fishery:

  • Target Reference Points (TRP) is where we want the stock to be and describes a desirable level of performance. If a fishery is performing at or above its Target Reference Point, the fishery may be able to support additional levels of catch or fishing effort.
  • Trigger Reference Points (TrRP) is a point where management intervention is needed to move the fishery towards its objective. This may involve taking action to reduce the amount of catch or fishing pressure in the fishery in order to allow fish stocks to recover.
  • Limit Reference Points (LRP) describe the point at which the performance of the fishery is considered unacceptable and more drastic management action is immediately required. This could involve significantly reducing the level of catch or effort in the fishery or closing the fishery altogether to allow fish stocks to recover.

Example target and limit reference points for stock biomass

Biomass Management response
60% - maximum economic yield Economically efficient and more resilient ecologically
40% to 50% - maximum sustainable yield Sustainable level
20% - limit reference point Monitor carefully and take action where needed
Under reference point Close fishery

Decision rules

The decision rules state what pre-determined management action will be taken for target, byproduct and bycatch species in the fishery.

This usually involves adjusting the catch or fishing pressure in the fishery (through quota, management units or bag limits).

Watch the video

  • Transcript

    How do we use harvest strategies to manage fisheries... and what's so important about a harvest strategy?

    Good fisheries management provides the benefits of fishing, without compromising aquatic habitats and fish stocks. A harvest strategy is a framework that supports the fisheries management process.

    It defines the objectives of a fishery, and provides a pre-agreed process for making management decisions to achieve the objectives. Harvest strategies are used all over the world and are a key reform effort of the Sustainable Fisheries Strategy.

    All harvest strategies include the same basic elements key indicators used to assess the fishery's health specific benchmarks or reference points that outline where we want the fishery to be and where we don’t want it to be and decision rules that trigger pre-agreed management actions.

    Indicators are used to track the performance of the fishery over time. Biomass is an example of a key indicator that can be used to measure how fish stocks are coping with fishing and other pressures. When the reference point is reached, the decision rule triggers pre-agreed management actions. Different reference points may trigger other pre agreed management actions.

    Other indicators are also important, especially where limited data is available.

    These can include:

    • commercial catch rates
    • recreational catch information
    • environmental influences like water temperature
    • and other social or economic indicators.

    Pre-agreed decision rules define how a fishery is managed and help remove uncertainty.

    Reference points describe desirable and undesirable levels, which can trigger management action up and down to keep catch or effort within sustainable limits. For example, if the biomass exceeds the target where the stock needs to be, it may increase the overall catch allowed to be taken. However, if the biomass level is decreasing and triggers a limit reference point, management actions would be put in place to allow the stock to recover.

    Management options could include:

    • reducing fishing effort
    • decreasing quotas or bag limits
    • increasing minimum size of fish, or
    • seasonal fishery closures.

    In Queensland, harvest strategies will manage the catch of all sectors under a unified management approach. All sectors will have their proportion of the catch adjusted based on the performance of the fishery. Harvest strategies will benefit all stakeholders by delivering ecological, economic and socially sustainable fisheries. They can increase the number and size of fish, raise the value of a fishery, protect ecosystems, strengthen communities and feed people.

Last updated: 10 Jul 2024